Our Life as a Shoujo Manga!
by StreaksOfGold
Summary: What happens when you take gaming history's most unusual love triangles and throw them into the God-forsaken world of shoujo? The answer: An even more complicated triangle, with the seemingly stereotypical lives of teenagers during the delicate times of high school, complete with an actually satisfying twist (in this case)! Plus an ending that's guaranteed to be unexpected!
1. Chapter 1

****A/N:**** For starters, let me just say that this story began ENTIRELY ON AN IMPULSIVE WHIM...literally, it just popped into my head (due to binge-watching Nozaki-kun) one night out of nowhere, starting out as this cutesy "idea" I toyed with until it took the shape of some annoying, romance story about my fave characters in the world...well maybe not so annoying or romance-y. While I'm a fan of Gothic literature (or anything deep, dark, and complex in general), I _do_ take a break once in a while for those cheesy romance stories (Who doesn't?), as I find it quite refreshing-another reason why this story was made! So anyway, enough with my blabber: I present to you a wonderful package of semi-complicated SoRiKai, complete with the typical life and antics of teen-y high schoolers, with my (what I hope to be) amusing sense of humor. SO BEAR WITH ME ON THIS; YOU WONT REGRET IT, I SWEAR!

Read and review as well, peeps, I thrive on feedback!

...Not to harshly, please, I'm new to this! *insert super sweet smile here*

 ** **Disclaimer: HAHA, as if! Only in my dreams will the franchise be under my control...so until science creates some "Dream-Manifesting" machine, my dreams will stay as...just that. Forever. And ever. For now...*grins evilly*****

* * *

 ** **The (False) Hopes of High School!****

Today was the day.

No scratch that: Today was _the_ day.

The specific day of which every teen in the world either dreaded, anticipated, or built themselves up with confidence in preparation the night before said day, only to wake up the morning after and have an absolute mental breakdown...

 _The First Day of High School._.

Enter Kairi Kusanagi, sixteen-year-old redheaded (some would argue burgundy, but who cared?) teenage girl who was currently experiencing the latter of the aforementioned scenarios. With an iron grip on a Chi curling wand, she was currently wrapping a loose tendril around the hot rod in a vain attempt at creating one of Seventeen magazine's most sought-after hairstyles of the season—the "its-not-styled-I'm-just-lucky-to-have-woken-up-like-this", tousled look.

"I hope it comes out right...there's gonna be a lot of cute girls at school, and I don't wanna be a social pariah because my hair looks crazy!" she wondered aloud, the only life source caring to listen being her fluffy, white rabbit named Marzipan, who was sleeping soundly within his large, decorative cage.

As the last of the steam rolled off of her hair, she lowered the wand onto her vanity table to begin the dreadful assessment of her results. One cute, wine-red tendril hung in a wave at the corner of the right side of her head, complimenting her, looking as girly and as perfect as ever. It was the perfect hairstyle for a back-to-school occasion, one that would undoubtedly capture the eyes of girls and boys alike if she continued the process of curling the entirety of her round-shaped head...except that in her eyes, the curl was a complete and utter disaster that would probably ruin her; get her ridiculed for the sheer pity of it. To make matters worse, the adorable lip gloss tinted peach with subtle hints of shimmer which gave her small lips the illusion of fullness would make everybody think she was a slut, trying to win attention to a giant, botox-ed excuse for mouth. And who the hell told her to wear that damn eyeliner that formed a charming wing above her lash line, drawing attention to her beautiful indigos? Who the _hell_ told her she was _pretty_?

"...This is HORRIBLE!" the distressed redhead whined, scrutinizing the reflection in the vanity mirror with thorough distaste. "I...I look like a _clown_! All the girls at school are gonna laugh at me! O-Or worse, they're gonna think I'm desperaaaaaaate!"

Marzipan's floppy ear twitched in the background.

She collapsed her head dramatically onto the table of the vanity set, burying her graceful face in the makeshift pit of her elbows. How could she have thought she had the _gall_ to compete with the beautiful girls at school—though she wasn't trying to compete at all; she just wanted people to deem her worthy enough to stand next to her. For goodness sake, it was an _all-girls'_ school...she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell, did she?

As the clock on the wall made its announcement of striking seven o'clock, Kairi lifted her head miserably and quirked her lips. She stared at her visage for an eternity (it was actually two minutes), before she cocked her head to the side and came to the sudden conclusion that hey, she didn't look... _that_ bad. Maybe, dare she say, she _did_ look... _decent_ , at most. The other girls at school would throw a chuckle or two at her, worst case scenario. Nodding her head in silent affirmation, Kairi took a detour in her plans and reached for the neglected flat iron, and straightened out the curl that cried at it's demise. Back to her usual look of sleek tresses, she thought, the "old-reliable"; there could be no wrong in what worked, and what was natural—minus the presence of the eyeliner and peach gloss, of course.

"Ehh, guess I'll get dressed now." she huffed, motioning the turn of her swivel chair to face the infamous private-school girl uniform. There, sprawled on top of a cushion-y mattress covered with neatly-made white bed sheets underneath a baby blue comforter, lay a pressed, carmine blazer with a golden insignia with the initials C.R.A. on the left lapel, and a matching golden bird's feather directly below it. A black, pleated skirt, being it 's partner, was right next to it, and the unforgettable standard knee-highs and chestnut suede penny loafers to complete the ensemble was within the vicinity as well. Although the outfit, even in it's disassembled state, had rather cutesy appeal, Kairi didn't think it'd suit her in any way...

"No, no, NO, no more breakdowns!" and after mentally slapping herself, she donned her uniform.

With officially thirty minutes to spare, Kairi took a maximum of five of them to scrutinize herself once more before chucking up her thumb up at a forty-five degree angle (in the second quadrant), and slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder. It was days like this when she really appreciated the fact that she lived within walking distance of her school, so that gave her all the time in the world to criticize and reconstruct herself—though whether or not this was a _positive_ aspect in particular, who knew. At the every least, she had the blessing of being able to sleep longer than any other teenager, so kudos to her. She had the wonderful advantage of pleading "ten-more minutes, Mom, please?", eating a full breakfast at a leisure pace without risking indigestion, and extra time to do "forgotten"—as if—homework...

 _Dareka no tame ni ikite yukenai, jibun o yuruseru tsuyosa o..._

The sound of Aimer gracefully belting out her lyrics resounded from Kairi's decorated flip-phone, and her shoulders immediately sagged at the caller-ID. She wasn't even late, and she was sure that girl was going to screech her ears off about not showing up at her house to help her do her hair—

 _Oh...crap..._

Like a lightning bolt that struck, her remembrance of a promise came jolting back into her brain. Kairi had _completely_ forgotten abut her promise to Selphie that she'd help with the hyper brunette's back-to-school look. _God_ , she could imagine the poor state of affairs Selphie was in; that girl could not handle anything remotely related to making one's appearance enhanced—she'd just fail disastrously, doing the horrible opposite. Kairi failed in rescuing her friend from a potentially dangerous situation...and now she was going to lose her hearing because of it.

Gingerly, the nervous redhead creeked open her cellphone along with a shaky smile before saying, "Heeeeey, Selph, how's it goin-"

"How's it going? HOW'S IT _GOING_?" There was a long pause on the phone, as if the angry Selphie had to recollect herself from hearing Kairi's sheer audacity at asking such a thing, before continuing, "You've got _some nerve_ , chica! You don't even _realize_ how UGLY I look right now because of you! You _promised_ , Kairi, you promised!"

Kairi could hear the muffled sobs over the phone (Dear Lord, she hoped the girl didn't have on makeup at the moment), along with the sound of her own heart cracking from guilt. With only a few handfuls of time left to dawdle before school started, Selphie was going to be the epitome of the fear Kairi held in the initial start of her morning.

"Selph-"

"And now my makeup is even _more_ ruined because of you _again_! I'm so UGLY-"

"S-Selphie, please-"

"I'll never get a boyfriend! EVER! Everyone will remember this day as the day when Selphie Ukishiro _degraded the entire female populace!"_

"SELPHIE, PLEASE!"

Sniffles signaling the end of a sob and a rant were heard.

Sheesh, and Kairi thought _she_ had insecurities.

"Look, Selph, I know I'm at fault, and I'm so, _so_ sorry! But please, just relax, okay? I'm gonna make it up to you, I _swear—_ not promise—but swear, on my...on my Hello Kitty charm that I'll fix this, okay?"

She didn't have to hear he exact words no see the girl to know that the gears in Selphie's rampant mind was turning, considering the offer, rolling blue eyes heavenward in silent deflation, and finally accepting the negotiation.

"Fine." she bitterly spat, pursing her lips as Kairi she would do. "My house. _Five_ minutes. You'd better start flying, chica, 'cause if we run out of time to fix me, it'll be your head—and your charm!" And with a lasting prima donna-esque threat, the line clicked off, leaving a frowning Kairi holding a dead one.

Heaving a heavy sigh, the redhead cracked a small smile before heading over to a still-sleeping Marzipan and whispered goodbye, and promptly left her room.

In the end, Kairi wouldn't have the privilege of a morning meal (Yay for indigestion!), but before her lunch blessing could be snatched away from her too, she grabbed the bento waiting patiently on the kitchen counter-top with a note that said, "Have a good day, princess! See you at dinner!", and stowed it away in her bag. With the house neat and quiet, she departed from her home with a turn of the lock, and inhaled the fresh, morning air.

"Well, today definitely had a start." She chuckled to herself before beginning her half-run, half-walk to a certain damsel in distress.

And so, in a just a short amount of time, our young heroine would be waltzing through the doors of hell of begin her freshman year.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Had some spare time, thought "why not?", and took it upon myself to bless y'alls with another chapter...plus the first one seemed really, er, short.

Happy readings, lovelies! And please review (non-harshly); they're like cookies to my soul.

 **Disclaimer: IT'S MINE. ALLLLL MINE...yeah, just kidding. I'm just your average, everyday Kingdom Hearts-obsessee, with no ownership rights whatsoever! *insert smiley-crying face here***

* * *

 **Welcome to Hell, Lucky Ladies!**

An air of peace reigned over the looming architecture of the quiet Canary Rose Academy, with the children safely (or unfortunately, depending on the student's personal opinions) tucked away within the vastness of it's hallways. The wind blew gently, scattering the pink blossoms of the sakura trees into beautiful mini whirlwinds of petals, caressing the lowly insects it happened to pass by. A chime was heard overhead, signaling the start of the first day of school, and the opening ceremony that was soon to take place in the next few minutes or so.

All is well, thought the silent gatekeeper, observing the morn thus far, everything was going smoothly which would surely bring promises of a smoother afternoon. With that idea, and the jingle of keys, he began to close the gate of metal bars to conclude his job. Maybe he'd walk around the perimeter, continue his observation of the tranquil environment, probably catch some snoozes beneath a tree—

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!"

The distant cries of someone resounded in his ears.

The gatekeeper's eyebrows rose high on his forehead as he squinted, peering into the far beyonds of the metal. _What on Earth-_

"DOOOOOON'T CLOOOOSE THE GAAAAAAATES!"

The figure—no, _figures_ of two bodies were coming into view, and he could vaguely make out two dark-haired girls running frantically to reach the academy. The leading one was waving her hands wildly, her short, bobbed hair bouncing madly in the wind, and the one behind, a girl with sleek hair flipping in the breeze, seemed desperate to catch up, looking as though she was seconds from passing out.

A small frown wore the man's face—of course, there just had to be someone to ruin his peaceful morning. Why couldn't these kids just get to school on time? Now he'd have to go through the trouble of being hassled by tween-y squirts and their tardiness, being asked "Please, sir, let us in! We're sorry!", deal with the repetitive pleas of these youngsters...He was so sick and tired of children nowadays.

"PLEASE LET US IN! WE'RE SOOORRRRYYYY!"

So much for extrasensory perception.

As the two school girls finally caught up in what felt like forever in waiting, the bobbed-hair one was the first to speak through ragged breaths.

"We're so, _soooo_ , sorry! Please let us in, mister! You see, the walk was longer than we thought-"

"Yeah, yeah I've heard 'em all." The gatekeeper cut in, unwilling to hear anymore of the shtick. "Tell me: why should _I_ have to keep going through the trouble of opening and closing and _re-_ opening and _re-_ closing this heavy gate, just 'cause your too _slow_ to get to school? Riddle me _that_!"

Whether or not it was his manner of speaking, but the girls had a dumbfounded look on their faces.

"P-please, mister, we won't do it again. We just had a little trouble this morning, that's all—" the sleek-haired—who, upon closer inspection, actually had red hair—finally chimed in.

"Oh, puh-lease, little girl, this is your _first_ _day_ of school! I know _exactly_ why you're both late. Little girly problems, make-up issues, 'I don't know what to wear!', that phooey!" The man wasn't even aware that his speech became incoherent babbles abut "girly problems", making him sound like a ornery humbug more than anything.

"Then...since you know...can you let us go?" Bobbed-Brunette One asked coyly.

The gatekeeper grunted and met her eye-for-eye. "You know what? N-O."

The girls gasped. "Oh come on, mister, this is unfair!"

"Life is unfair!"

"Are you _really_ gonna block children from an _education_!? Isn't there, like, a law against that!?" Bobbed-Brunette whined loudly.

"So is tardiness! Ever heard of truancy?"

"But we were going-"

"Not if I don't let you in!"

After a shock of stunned silence from the brunette's end, something in her snapped. "YOU LOOK HERE, MISTER!" she gesticulated wildly, raising her voice with each gesture."You have NO idea how bad a morning I've had! I had to deal with 'girly problems' and people problems and transportation problems and AIR QUALITY problems, so don't you come to me with your 'grumpy-grandpa' issues about whatever! Let us in the school, dangit! I did NOT suffer a stupid morning just for YOU to NOT let me in! STEP ASIDE, GRAMPS!"

Redheaded One stared at her friend in mute shock—complete with a dropped jaw and everything—before she shook Bobbed-Brunette's arms, mewling, "Selphie! How could you!? You can't just go around _spazzing_ on elders because your mad! We're gonna be suspended now!"

"I don't care, Kairi! No one's gonna take their anger out on me!"

Amidst the petty argument over certain respects for elders from youngsters, and how one is supposed to "give a damn" and "walk away from the attitude", a weary sigh escaped from the gatekeeper as he ran a hand over his visor. Man, this generation was really going down hill, wasn't it?

"Alright, _alright_ already!" he exclaimed, effectively shutting the bickering girls up. "Go on, get inside. Anything to shut _Selphie's_ screeching up! This better not happen again."

"Hey! Y-you cant just go around saying my name like that—"

"Okay, thank you, mister, we really appreciate it!" Kairi clamped a hand over Selphie's mouth and dragged her away. "I _promise_ this wont happen again—ever!"

As she settled for pulling a still-complaining Selphie away—who glanced back, giving him a final "Hmph!" and a turn of the nose—with one arm and waving goodbye sweetly with the other, the gatekeeper shook his head, looking at the petal-covered ground beneath him. _Kids these days...gotta mouth all-mighty..._

He looked up at the cloudless sky before saying to himself, "Don't worry, Ed. We're still gonna have a good day."

Of course, she just had to fall victim to the cliché example of a high school student.

 _Of course,_ she just _had_ to start her freshman year by being _late_ , clueless as to where she she had to be, pulling the arm of an irritating best friend and yanking it at times in order to shut her big mouth up.

The intricate hallways of Canary Rose were deserted, the only sign of life being the faint voice of an orator with a microphone guiding them to their fated destination—and Selphie, too. As far as Kairi could remember, every initial school day began with an opening ceremony, and if the increasing sound of the speaker meant anything, they were supposed to be in the auditorium, and were heading in the right direction.

...The auditorium.

Kairi sighed loudly at the mere thought of it; she and Selphie were going to be the spectacles of the season, walking into a significant event, in a prestigious academy nonetheless, looking like a couple of idiots. No— _delinquents._ Her day hadn't even began, and she could already feel the high hopes she attempted to build just slip away like sand in the wind. _What a drag..._

As the duo neared the imposing double doors of polished, cherry oak wood, the pit in both of the girl's stomachs began to churn.

"...And because of such policies, the superior dignity of our centuries-old academy has been able to prosper..."

" _Centuries_? Man, this school is one brick away from falling apart-"

"Quiet, Selph!"

"Oh, _whatever_!"

Ignoring the brunette's resignation to incoherent mumbles of complaints, Kairi gulped as she continued to stare at the barrier before her. She had two choices at hand: One, be a strong woman ready to face anything, and waltz through the doors with her head high; or two, turn tail like the wimp she really was and run back home, tripping on invisible objects like the klutz she also happened to be at times.

Seeing as how she got one over on the gatekeeper in order to get in, the redhead was left with no choice but to woman-up and grow a pair—as contradictory as that sounded.

"C'mon, Selph..." she began hesitantly, taking a deep breath of shaky confidence, "Can't wait out here forever, right?"

Selphie eyed the doors wearily. "I dunno...I mean, I'm no delinquent, but I sure don't mind skipping this to keep from embarrassing myself—"

"No, we can do this! We...are strong, independent women!"

"Who don't need no education!"

"...Um, what?"

"Oh, nothing! Don't listen to lil' ole me—"

And before Selphie knew it, Kairi pushed opened the doors with a brave face. Instantaneously, every inhabitant of the large room swiveled their heads to see who had the gall to come in at this time, some squinting to shield their pupils from the overbearing light that was pouring within. Actually, calling the room simply "large" was an understatement-the room was _enormous,_ with a second tier, filled to brim with innumerable females, all with a monotonous air of prim and propers and goody two-shoes. Right in the center of the podium stood a short, elderly woman with the classic "crotchety headmistress" look, gazing with a scrutinizing stare written on her shrewd countenance. For some unknown reason, flashbacks of the movie, "Matilda" began to replay themselves within Kairi's mind..

 _PleasedontbeaTrunchbullPLEASEdontbeaTrunchbullPleasedontbea—_

"And what might the _reason_ be that has _dared_ you _young_ _ladies_ to come _this_ late?" The woman, undoubtedly the principal, enunciated sharply after shifting her librarian's glasses.

And just like that, any shred of "confidence" the two girls preserved had completely diminished.

Very nervous and jittery smiles made their way across their faces. What could they _possibly_ say that wouldn't make them worsen their appearance of disrespectful adolescents? Surely they couldn't use the same line on the principal as they did with the gatekeeper—even he didn't believe their excuse. Selphie took a chance and peered around her, only to regret everything and snap her attention back to the critical gaze of the woman; she and Kairi were in a spotlight of shame.

"W-well...I—we got me—us lost...o-on the way h-here, Miss..."

The headmistress raised an eyebrow.

"W-we went in the wrong d-direction, a-and ended up o-on the other side of t-t-town..."

"A-and we tried to ask for help, b-but the people weren't very, um...smart."

The silence was becoming suffocating.

"I-if you'd allow us, M-Miss, we would l-love to sit and listen-"

" _Miss Edna._ Now, what are your names?" the one named Miss Edna cut in coolly.

"K-Kairi Kusanagi!"

"And Selphie Ukishiro!"

Another round of silence passed before Miss Edna regarded them with a final look and waved an elegant hand in the air. "You may be seated."

Kairi and Selphie released a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. As much as it mentally pained her, the redhead glanced at her surrounding in search of a seat or two, when her eyes came to a rest on—coincidentally—two free seats... near the wall...in the front...on the other side of the room.

 _Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy meeeeeeeeeeeeeee..._ Both girls mentally groaned as they made their "deadman walking" way to the front of the auditorium. Kairi had said it before and she'd say it again: The morning couldn't have taken a more horrific turn for the worse. It was like she was being punished by the devil, and all because her stupid brain decided to stupidly forget her stupid promise to her stupid best friend—okay, maybe Selphie wasn't stupid ( _usually_ ), but everything else was!

Nearing their destination, Kairi could vaguely make out a girl with blonde hair sitting rather informally in the chair facing the opening of the fourth aisle not too far from her—the nerve of that girl (as if Kairi herself had the right to say)-seemingly sizing them up with an indecipherable stare. Generally speaking, she looked... _intimidating_.

Blue met blue for an instant—and Kairi swore she saw a the girl's lips quirk on one side—before she snapped her eyes away, facing nothing in particular.

At least the worst is over, she thought randomly, once her and Selphie reached their seats, they could quietly sulk to themselves while appearing to have gotten over their shame and readily became picture-perfect students.

And the worst would've been over, if only she hadn't took an "America's Most Funniest Video"-type fall down the aisle, tripping over God knew what, making a front-roll tumble, and revealing to the world that she liked pink-cheetah print panties just as much as any other girl.

"Kairi!"

The sounds of chuckles and outright guffaws erupted around redhead, Selphie a little ways behind her with a hand clasped around her mouth. Kairi was on the verge on tears as she desperately scrambled to fix herself, but that didn't stop the snickers and the pointing and the "God, what a klutz" comments coming from north, south, east, and west. Her hair was disheveled, and a hot, embarrassed blush spread over her face. Even Miss Edna, the great, stoic Matriarch of the Manor, let slip an expression of genuine surprise.

"Miss Kusanagi, are you alright?"

"Y-yes..." Kairi inaudibly whimpered.

Selphie ran to help the ego-bruised girl to her feet.

"Alright... _silence_ , ladies!"

And just like that, the auditorium fell back into it's death-like quietude—with the exception of a few challenging students.

In any case, it was official; today, the first day of school, was by far one of the worst days Kairi had ever experienced in her life. She waltzed through the doors of hell only to be roasted by the fires.

As she made a rush and finally sat in her seat, with Selphie's assuring hand on her leg, Kairi fought back the urge to make a beeline for the doors.


End file.
